The Justice League: Ultimate Warrior
by ssj2luke
Summary: While training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Gohan ventures too far and ends up in the Justice League universe. Will Gohan be able to help the Justice League in their battles? And more importantly, will he be able to do so without revealing how powerful he truly is? Takes place in the Justice League cartoon, starting with the episode Starcrossed: Part 1. Rated T for violence.
1. Accidentally Inter-Dimensional

Author's Note: This story has been in my mind for a long time. Dragonball Z and the Justice League animated show crossovers have been done before, but I wanted to try my own take on it.

Summary: Near the end of the training within Hyperbolic Time Chamber, young Gohan goes too far into its depths, and ends up in another universe, (We never know exactly what the limits of the HTC are, so I'm going to use some creative liberties and say that it can go anywhere.) Join him with the Justice League on their adventures.

Second Note: People from the beginning are going to be wondering how Gohan's strength matches up to the rest of the league, mainly Superman. From the DBZ timeline, Gohan will not have achieved Super Saiyan 2 yet, because he was still in training. He will be close to Full-Power Super Saiyan, just slightly weaker than he was at the Cell Games. When comparing it to the power of the Justice League, I'm basing it off of some evidence from previous shows. In Superman the Animated Series, Superman had trouble lifting up a plane, while Adult Gohan as Saiyaman in DBZ could easily. Superman is quite a bit stronger in Justice League than in STAS and Teen Gohan is stronger than Adult Gohan. So, by my logic, 10/11 year old Gohan in his normal state will be a little stronger than Superman, while as a Super Saiyan, he will be much stronger (Super Saiyan increases strength by 50x.) Not to mention, Gohan is a far more skilled fighter. As for Super Saiyan 2…we'll see what happens. This story starts in the last scene in the Justice League episode, "Starcrossed Part 1."

The Justice League: Warrior Unleashed

**Chapter 1: Accidentally Inter-Dimensional**

John Stewart, also known as the Green Lantern, punched the newly created force field valiantly, but to no avail. It just wouldn't budge. Beside him laid the unconscious forms of Superman, Flash, and Martin Manhunter, all of whom had fallen in various ways to the force of the Thanagarian Empire.

'_I can't believe how quickly things have changed around here," _Green Lantern thought, continuing his assault, '_To think I trusted Shayera all this time, when right behind my back, she was planning to turn on me at any second in order to please her race. I was almost in love with that woman…but now, I don't know what's right anymore.'_

Giving up his punches, he took a step back and prepared to fire an energy bolt at the shield, when the soft fluttering of wings caught his attention. Turning around, he was met with none other than Hawkgirl, clad in her Thanagarian garb, looking no less beautiful.

'_Ignore it, John.' _Green Lantern thought, mentally shaking his head, '_It's all just a ruse.'_

Seemingly calm, Hawkgirl pleaded, "Don't fight us. We're trying to help you."

Enraged, John turned around, "Do you ever stop lying?!"

"It was for your own good," Hawkgirl continued, walking up to John, "You've got to trust me."

Instantly, Green Lantern's ring was in her face, glowing with destructive power. "Why?! Who's side are you on?!"

Hawkgirl's eyes softened, reminding John forcefully of the first time he had seen her whole face; he had taken off her mask in the med bay of the WatchTower after the tumultuous battle with the Royal Flush Gang, and the two had shared a kiss for the first time. It was practically a night of magic.

Even now, as Green Lantern tried to tell himself it was all a trick, his arm subconsciously began lowering.

'_Can I really trust her again? After all she's done?'_

"Don't you know?" Hawkgirl whispered.

That did it for him. After a few more seconds of glaring, Green Lantern's ring flickered off, the glow surrounding his body faded, and his arm dropped to his side.

All of a sudden, Hawkgirl's right arm snapped up, and John's face was met with the cold, hard metal of her mace. Releasing a loud groan, John dropped to the ground, his face sinking slightly in the sand. With the last amount of strength he had, he lifted his head up to meet Hawkgirl's determined face, as her betrothed, Hro Talak, walked up to meet her.

"I'm sorry, John." Hawkgirl said solemnly.

Giving up, with his heart breaking inside, John's face fell back into the sand.

'_What are we going to do now?' _Was his last thought as he lost consciousness.

Gohan woke up from another one of his fitful rests, breaking out in a cold sweat. He had had yet another nightmare where Cell had somehow gotten in to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber while he was training. Only this time, instead of killing his mom and Piccolo, Cell had killed his father, driving a hand through his chest. And once again, Gohan hadn't been powerful enough to stop him.

'_Why does this keep happening?'_ Gohan thought, '_I need to stop worrying about what hasn't happened yet? Cell doesn't know about this place, and even if he did, my dad would stop him for sure.'_

But even as he tried to reassure himself, he had his doubts. Goku had said from the beginning of their training that he wasn't strong enough to destroy Cell, and as they were entering the ninth month, that statement hadn't changed.

'_And yet, Dad is always so carefree, as if there isn't anything to worry about.'_

True, the two had gotten a lot stronger during their training, and Gohan was surprised to find he was sparing almost evenly with his father now, but still, what could Goku be hiding?

Suddenly, a mop of spikes with a smiling face attached to it leaned in through the curtain around Gohan's bed.

"Come on, Gohan!" His father shouted, "Get up! I want a nice breakfast before we get to training today."

Smiling, Gohan leapt out of bed. "Okay dad!" He paused to wipe a lock of golden hair out of his face. He quietly marveled at how natural it felt to be a Super Saiyan now, even when he slept. It was as if Saiyan power knew no limits.

A few minutes later, the two Saiyans were at their dining table, gorging on their customary hall of food. Well, one of them was anyway.

"Hey Gohan, what's the matter?" Goku asked, swallowing a mouthful of spaghetti. "You've barely touched your food."

"Huh?" Gohan mumbled, jerking out of a daze. "What?" He looked down to discover he had been twiddling a meatball between his fingers.

"Oh, sorry dad. Guess I've just been a little stressed today."

Smiling fondly, Goku put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about it. When the time comes, we'll be ready for Cell, and any tricks he might have up his sleeve. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Gohan looked up at his father and couldn't help but smile back. The infamous Goku smile was pretty darn infectious.

"Thanks dad." He said, "Hey, do you mind if I go outside and put in a little extra training before we start?"

"Sure, son." Goku nodded. "But just make sure not to go too far. You know how dangerous it can be to go deep into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber alone."

Gohan nodded back, standing up from the table. "Don't worry, I shouldn't be gone too long. I'm just feeling a little restless right now."

"Well, then get on out there!" Goku cheered, clapping his soon good-naturedly on the back. "I expect you to give me your all when we spar today."

Giving his father a thumbs up, Gohan opened the door and stepped out into the unknown depths of the chamber. He looked around, seeing the blank witness he had grown accustomed to these past eight months, took a deep breath, and powered up, feeling the familiar rush of power soar through his veins.

"Let's go."

Ten minutes later, Gohan was coming close to breaking a sweat as he repeatedly threw lightning-fast punches at the air, his golden hair flying around his face. He pushed his feet off of the ground and flew into the air, repeating the same routine.

'_C'mon, Gohan.' _He thought, '_You've got to do better than this. Dad is counting on you to make him proud.'_

Unleashing a snarl, he threw a large ball of energy from his left hand onto the ground, and then threw another from his right, both of which created a large explosion beneath him. He rushed to the ground to steady himself and landed in a fighting stance. Tensing his muscles, he held his fists out in opposite directions and let his power surround him in a golden aura.

"I've got…to surpass…a Super Saiyan!" He grunted, trying as hard as he could to raise his power level even higher. But to his shock, and to an extent, annoyance, it would not go any higher.

Gasping for air, his golden aura vanished, and he fell to his knees.

"What is going on?" He asked himself. "I feel like there's this power in me that's trying hard to come out, but no matter what I do, nothing seems to happen!" He stood up slowly and wobbled a little, the exertion from releasing his energy hitting him.

"I guess I'll have to wait another day and see what happens." Taking a deep breath, he fixed a smile on his face. "At least now I can spar with dad!"

Growing excited, he looked up to where he knew the entrance to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was, and to his surprise, he found it to be merely a speck in the distance.

"Heh, whoops." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I traveled out a little farther than I thought."

Rising hesitantly into the air, he began to fly back, looking around in all directions.

"I'd better be careful though. Dad said this place can be subject to a lot of…"

All of a sudden, large, orange flames erupted from the ground and headed towards the young Saiyan.

"CLIMATE CHANGES!" Gohan yelled, jumping backwards in the air to avoid the flames from hitting his bottom. To his horror, the flames rose higher than him and completely obstructed his view of the entrance. He put on a burst of speed, attempting to fly around them, but no matter which direction he turned, the flames were there to greet him.

"I've got to get out of here somehow!"

Giving out a yell, he let his energy surround him once more in an attempt to fan away the flames. At first, nothing happened, and Gohan began to feel silly. But very gradually, the flames began to swirl around him, as if working in tangent with his energy. Soon enough, all the flames had been sucked away from the ground, and had evaporated into nothingness.

Gohan sighed with relief, and was about to congratulate himself, when a burst of cold wind suddenly hit him with full force.

'_Oh no! I forgot about the cold!'_

Before he could power up again, the wind blew him off his feet and sent him tumbling head over heels though the frosty air. For several minutes, he was tossed to and fro amongst the empty the space, so much so to a point where he didn't even know where he was going. He tried to fight against it, but the temperature dropped to a point where his hands and feet became encapsulated in ice. He could only watch in horror as it traveled up his body and neared his head.

"NO!" Gohan shouted. "I DIDN'T COME THIS FAR TO WIND UP IN A BALL OF ICE!"

Having had enough, Gohan powered up to the highest he could go as a Super Saiyan, his power rushing out in rapid waves that shattered the ice covering him like fine glass. For a brief moment, nothing else could be heard but the sound of his screams. Then, all at once, the ice stretching out in mountains around him met the same fate, all creating an almighty crash that shook the endless limits of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

After that, there was silence.

Gohan stood alone in the air, his golden aura continuing to warp itself around him. He allowed a small outtake of air to escape his lips.

"Whew," He uttered, letting his aura fade away, "I'm sure glad that's over. It's a good thing the wind didn't blow me too far away…."

He paused at his own words.

"It didn't blow me that far away…did it?"

Feeling a sense of trepidation, he turned to where he thought the entrance was, and found…nothing.

"…No."

He spun in all directions, searching frantically, but was met with the same empty void he had seen all too much in the past eight months.

"No!" '_This can't be happening to me! I can't have gone that far! How am I going to find dad now?!'_

Growing desperate, he tried to search out for his father's energy, but once again, he felt nothing.

"NO! DADDY!" He cried out, but the only sounds that met him were his own echoes. He could feel a wetness forming around his eyes and scrubbed at his face to wipe away the tears, but his own emotions failed him as a sob escaped him.

'_I'm going to be stuck in here forever.' _Gohan thought, '_I'm never going to be able to see dad, or mom, or Piccolo, or anyone ever again.'_

He began to fly out in a random direction, knowing that staying put wouldn't do any good, but it seemed that no matter how far he flew, nothing in the environment changed. He continued flying around for another hour, but nothing changed. He even tried raising his power again to alert his father of his distress. But once again, nothing changed.

"It's hopeless." Gohan said dejectedly. "I've just been flying in circles for the past hour. No matter where I go, all I see is white."

He sunk to the ground slowly, dropping out of Super Saiyan in his depressed state for the first time in several weeks. Hugging himself, he allowed several more harsh sobs to escape him.

"After all that I've been through," He murmured to himself, "After the aliens I've fought, gotten beaten up by, and even killed, this is how I'm going to go down. Lost forever in nothingness."

At the tender age of ten, approaching eleven, he had not been one to consider how he was going to die, even though he had seen it happen to his friends, mentor, and even to an extent his own father. But now, he had lost all hope.

"If only I had listened to dad. If only I had stayed inside. If only…"

Unexpectedly, a spike of energy snapped past Gohan's mind. Breaking his reverie, he sat up.

"What was that?"

He closed his eyes and allowed his senses to take over. The energy he felt was not as high as his or his father's, but it was substantial. Looking deeper, Gohan could sense a few other energy signatures close by the first. A few were obviously strong, while two others were much lower, but had a large potential that intrigued the young Saiyan. Either way, they weren't too far away.

"Maybe following these will lead me back to dad!" Gohan exclaimed, powering up and following his senses. "…I hope."

He increased his speed, breaking the sound barrier in his desperation to be free from his barren prison. He drew nearer and nearer to the energy signatures, and after a few more minutes, he could finally spot a small black dot in the distance. He gave a grin.

"Finally!"

However, as he got ever closer, that grin began to fade. Instead of the entrance to the chamber he had been hoping for, he saw the beginnings of tall buildings and skyscrapers. Closer yet, and he could see streets on the ground with American cars parked on the sides.

"It…It looks like one of those cities in America Mom sometimes talks about." Gohan said, looking on in awe. "I wonder if…WOAH!"

He stopped in midair as he beheld the sight in front of him. The city was there, as he had seen coming up to it, but it only seemed to begin where the whiteness of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber ended. Looking to the left, Gohan expected to see some stripe of energy separating the two locations, but one could not be found. It was as if the two locations merely…coexisted with each other.

"How is this even possible?" He said to himself. "I thought the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was supposed to be this blank, empty void. Where did this come from?"

Thinking hard, Gohan tried to recall what his dad had warned him about, and only came up with the advice to not go out too far.

"He…never actually did get trapped himself, did he? So…he wouldn't know what the depths of this place truly were. Is it possible this could be a different world all together?"

He floated to the rip between the two worlds and slowly reached out with a hand in an attempt to touch it. But he paused.

"Wait. If I go there, I could make things worse than they already are. Maybe I should just…"

He turned back, and was met with the cold, white background once again.

"Then again…" Gohan said nervously, "Anything's better than this."

Taking a deep breath, he moved up to the rip, reached out with a hand, and allowed it to slide through.

For a moment, nothing happened. But then, everything seemed to explode around him in a bright light. Gohan covered his eyes immediately with his free hand, and when the light died, he noticed that nothing had changed. Except for one thing.

Looking down in horror, Gohan saw that his hand was being slowly sucked in through the rip. He pulled back with all his strength, but it seemed this inter-dimensional force far outclassed the young Saiyan. He grabbed with his other hand, but it only resulted in that hand getting trapped as well. Soon enough, his legs had become ensnared. He twisted himself to face the white space of the Time Chamber as he was sucked further into this new world, his head the only part of his body remaining.

He knew it was hopeless now, but as the remaining part of him slid though, he hoped that somewhere, his dad could hear him.

"DAAADDDYYYY!"

Another bright flash of light occurred, and this time, Gohan was knocked unconscious as he left the world he knew and entered the unknown.

And what was unknown to the half-Saiyan, was that his life was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

Author's Note: And that's the start. Quite a piece of work this chapter was. Somehow, I always felt my wording and descriptions seemed off, or just a little repetitive. But hopefully it will get better from here. And for anyone who's wondering, the energy he felt was Wonder Woman's. After getting captured by the Thanagarians, Superman was put under red sun radiation, so his power is basically gone. As for the two with potentially high energy signatures, well, that will be revealed later. You can guess if you want. Aside from following the JL plot, I'm making it up as I go. Anyway, read and review please. If you have any criticisms, be constructive, and if you have any ideas on how you'd write the story, I'd love to hear them.


	2. Strangest of Get-Togethers

Author's Note: Time for chapter 2! I'm surprised, this story has only been out for a few hours, and it's already gotten nine reviews. Thanks to those who have reviewed already and shared your thoughts, they're always appreciated. However, I'm curious as to why people are talking about the energy levels of the characters, posting random numbers. This is a fanfiction, it's not intended to completely follow canon. I'm going to be talking some liberties, of course. So please, focus on the story itself.

So obviously, at this point Gohan's in the Justice League universe. Now the groups will actually meet each other. It's time for shenanigans!

**Chapter 2: Strangest of Get-Togethers**

Gohan slowly opened his eyelids as he regained consciousness, staring into the bright blue sky above him.

"Wha…" He muttered, holding a hand to his forehead. "What hit me?"

Sitting up, he carefully rubbed his arms and legs in search of any possible injuries. To his relief, he found none.

'_Thank you, Saiyan healing.' _He thought. '_Now, where am I?'_

He looked at the surface he was sitting on, and found himself to be on the roof of a building. He made his way over to the edge, and peeked over hesitantly. What he saw instantly got him confused.

There were regular humans on the streets; that much he expected. But rather than going about their daily business, the humans were running in fear from a huge horde of flying creatures. They had the same body structures, but on their backs were giant hawk wings that stretched out more than six feet wide, helping propel them through the air. They carried long, sticklike weapons with them that had lasers on the end, and the uniforms they were wearing clearly showed they were no beings of Earth.

Suddenly, at the thought of Earth, the events from the past few minutes hit Gohan. Training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, getting lost, finding a rip between dimensions, get sucked in…

"Woah!" He gasped, reeling back from the shock of so many images at once. "So I really did enter another world! How in the world did I get here?"

Pausing at his own words, a sense of cold dread fell upon him.

"And…how in the world…do I get back?"

Looking around, he saw nothing that indicated a portal to another dimension ever existed here. It was as if the voyage from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to this unfamiliar city only went one way.

"If that's true…" Gohan whispered, "Then how am I ever going to see Dad or any of my friends and family ever again? And what if something goes wrong when Dad fights Cell? I won't be able to help him."

He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again, but he quickly wiped them away.

"No, I have to be strong! Dad wouldn't want me to act like this when something goes wrong. If I can find someone to help me, then I can get back home in no time. There's nothing to worry about."

Keeping an eye out for any of the hawk people nearby, Gohan leapt down from the building and slowly levitated to the alley on the side, his feet making a small cloud of dust expel into the air.

"First things first though." He said, "I need to know just what's going on here so I'm not caught off guard."

He ventured out into the street and proceeded to walk down casually, trying hard not to arouse any suspicion. For a few minutes, nothing of significance happened, as Gohan continued down the street and observed the situation around him. Hawk people continued to fly over the city, and for the most part, the streets seemed empty. Looking up at a window, he caught a brief glimpse of someone inside before the blinds were quickly snapped shut.

'_This is more than just a simple attack.' _Gohan realized.

Coming up to an electronics shop, he noticed the TV's on display. Rather than playing a typical program, the screens featured a man with a hawk-shaped helmet on his head, and his words gave Gohan pause.

"_**This is Commander Hro Talak." **_The man said, "_**In the name of the Thanagarian authority, we claim your planet as a garrison, and have instituted martial law." **_

'_Martial law?' _Gohan thought in shock, remembering what he learned about it through his mother's teachings on history. '_This race is taking over all forms of government across the world? For what reason?'_

Hro Talak continued, "_**Your world faces a crisis from which only we can protect. But to be effective, we must be free to act and move without interference. Cooperate, and our stay will be brief and without incident. Stand against us, and our wrath will be unforgiving."**_

The video feed shut off at that point, and returned to the normal news station. Eyes wide, Gohan stepped back.

"This can't be as simple as he's making it sounding." He said to himself, "If only these Thanagarians could protect the people of this Earth, then why would they have to institute martial law? There are more peaceful ways to make your case."

"Hey, you there!"

Gohan jumped at the voice behind him, and slowly turned around, silently berating himself for not noticing the energy signature beforehand. He was met with the cruel eyes of a Thanagarian soldier, whose tall, muscular frame looked menacing in comparison to the ten year-old boy.

"Show me your identification!"

"Identification? What for?"

"Don't ask questions! Just show it to me!"

Shrugging, Gohan said, "I don't really have any."

For a moment, the soldier just stared at the half-Saiyan, before a frown appeared on his face. Reaching forward, he grabbed Gohan's arm.

"You're coming with me."

Growing angry, Gohan jerked his arm out of the soldier's grasp and lashed out, intending to shove him away so he could escape. However, in his haste, Gohan forgot to hold in his strength, and the Thanagarian was sent straight through the glass window of the electronics store.

"Oh man." Gohan uttered, looking at his hand. "I really need to watch my power…"

"You there, stop!"

Gohan turned around to find three more Thanagarian soldiers flying towards him, lasers at the ready. Realizing that his cover was blown, Gohan flew up to meet the soldiers, hoping to defeat them as quickly as possible. They each fired at him with their lasers, but being the experienced fighter that he was, he deflected them all with the back of his hands, not even slowing down. Within seconds, they were all knocked out. He grabbed all the bodies in his arms and set them down on the ground.

"There. That takes care of that. Now, I need to get out of here, and find a way to…"

"Halt!"

Gohan groaned as yet more hawk-soldiers flew towards him. Knowing that continuing to fight them would get him nowhere, he powered up and sped away from the soldiers, leaving a trail of his white aura in the air. However, as he was leaving, his advanced hearing heard one of the Thanagarian soldiers speak to another,

"We must inform Commander Talak immediately! That kid could be working with the Justice League!"

'_Justice League?'_

Making sure he was far enough away, Gohan stopped in midair, the city below him now merely a muddled plain of buildings.

'_Who's the Justice League? Judging by how that soldier said it, it's probably fair to assume they're this world's heroes.' _Gohan brightened considerably. '_They must be those energy signatures I sensed earlier! Maybe they can find a way to send me home!'_

He got excited, thinking that he'd be back home before he knew it, but as he gazed at the city below him, his smile faded. Comparing the situation back home with the situation here, Gohan realized that while Cell was incredibly powerful, he was still one creature. In this world, the humans were literally being controlled by thousands upon thousands of aliens. And even though the people here had this supposedly capable Justice League to rely upon, it seemed even they weren't able to stop this invasion. Gohan knew his father would be able to handle Cell when the time came, but these people clearly needed help.

Being his father's son, he knew that his dad would never let an opportunity to protect the innocent down. He would defend the Earth at the slightest provocation, and Gohan wanted to prove to his dad that he could be the accomplished warrior he was training to be. That he could make his dad proud.

"I have to find this Justice League." Gohan said, his demeanor toughened into a cold resolve. "Assisting them and saving this world is more important right now. Dad would want that."

His priorities set, Gohan closed his eyes and searched once again for those energy signatures. Almost immediately, he located the largest one, which seemed to be slowly increasing.

Turning his head to the right, Gohan said with a smile, "There you are," and took off.

* * *

Princess Diana of Themyscira, more commonly known as Wonder Woman, stood inside her dingy prison cell, her unbreakable Lasso of Truth binding her to a steel pole. Her face was one of depression, the immense betrayal of her best friend governing her thoughts.

'_To think, I almost considered her a sister.' _She thought, '_That cold-heartened traitor. All she did was exploit us to her gain, playing with our emotions like we were her lapdogs. She's no better than Circe.'_ Looking up angrily, she saw one of the Thanagarian warriors shutting down the field to her cell in order to bring her a plate of food.

'_And I am not one to be tampered with.'_

The soldier pressed a button on the control panel to her left, lowering the pole and forcing her to her knees. With vague indifference, he tossed the plate of food in front of her knees. She looked closely. Aside from tannish slop, there were eyes and obvious octopus tentacles. Looking back up, she said,

"How am I supposed to feed myself tied up like this?"

With no emotion, the guard responded, "Not my problem." He started walking away.

"It will be if Hawkgirl finds out you disobeyed her orders."

"I know my duties." He continued to leave until Wonder Woman said,

"Then I guess you'll have to feed me."

The guard slowly turned around to face Diana.

"Don't be afraid, little man." She said, a cruel smirk on her face. "I won't bite."

Growing angry, the guard pulled out a dagger. "Mind your tongue, woman." He growled, holding the hilt up to Diana's neck. "I fear nothing."

Narrowing his eyes, he slowly lowered the dagger, making it seem as if he was going to stab her, but instead pierced it though one of the tentacles. He held it up to her mouth.

"Eat." He commanded.

Diana glared at the guard for a second, and then finally seemed to give in. She opened her mouth, leaned towards the food…

And promptly bit the guard's metal glove with her powerful teeth.

Giving out a shout of pain, the guard fell backwards, letting go of the dagger and allowing Diana to snag it out of the air with her mouth. As the guard hit the ground, Diana got back into a standing position. Recovering quickly, the guard snarled again and ran forward to subdue the Amazon, but she quickly caught him around the waist with her legs, breaking his hip bone in the process. Before he could blink, she head-butted him into unconsciousness.

'_Now to deal with the pole.'_

Looking to the left, she found the control that kept the pole in place. With expert precision, she threw the dagger with her mouth, and it hit the red button, which instantly lowered the pole and allowed her to escape from her lasso.

'_Perfect.' _She thought, '_Now, all I need to do is free the others, and we can...'_

"_SECURITY!"_ A voice said over the intercom. "_WE HAVE A BREACH IN CELL BLOCK SEVEN. ACTIVATE THE EMERGENCY FORCE SHIELD."_

"NO!" Diana shouted, running to the entrance of her cell, but it was too late. The wall of energy keeping her from her escape appeared once again. She punched it with all her strength, but it wouldn't budge. Outside her cell, a smirking Thanagarian guard walked up to her and tapped a small controller in his right hand.

"Didn't think we had a backup plan, did you?" The guard boasted, taking pleasure in the enraged look on Wonder Woman's face. "You other worldly types are all the same. You think you can overpower our superior technology, but in the end, they all fall to us. You and your precious Justice League will not prevent us from completing our mission. Nothing will stop…"

Unfortunately, the guard was interrupted, as the ceiling to the ship transporting the Justice League suddenly decided to explode.

Large clouds of dust spread throughout the room from the debris, and as Diana watched, a figure leapt down and landed on top of the guard, knocking him out instantly. Needless to say, the Amazon was surprised, but not at all displeased.

"At least he's quiet now." She muttered.

The dust settled down, and Diana was met with the biggest surprise yet. Standing on top of the beaten Thanagarian was a young boy who appeared to be no more than twelve or thirteen years of age. He was wearing a blue spandex suit that showed his muscular form with strong white armor and matching boots and gloves. His hair was the same raven color as Diana's own, but it was unruly, sticking out in every direction, more so in the front than in the back. His eyes were a deep brown, almost black, that Diana could see reflected two different emotions: childlike innocence and mature suffering.

Noticing Diana in the cell, the boy said to her calmly,"Need a little help?"

"That would be appreciated."

The boy sharply took the controller from the unconscious guards' hand, and crushed it to pieces. The force field faded away, and Diana ran up to meet the boy. She had a million questions on her mind, but decided to save them for later. She settled with,

"Nice grip."

The boy smiled up at her and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I try."

"_SECURITY." _The same voice from before announced. "_THE ONE KNOWN AS WONDER WOMAN HAS ESCAPED."_

All of a sudden, two Thanargian soldiers appeared from the balcony above and started firing at the two. Gohan prepared himself to slap the blasts away, but Diana got in front of him, deflecting them with her silver bracelets.

"Don't worry about me!" She shouted, "Free the others!"

Launching herself in the air, she flew to meet the two soldiers, and gave a swift uppercut to the closest one, flooring him immediately.

Gohan stood for a second, admiring Wonder Woman's fighting abilities.

'_She must be the strongest of the group.'_ He thought. '_Well, she certainly knows what she's doing.'_

Running to the next cell, Gohan was surprised to find a man dressed in a dark black and blue suit kneeling on the ground, the mask on his face resembling the head of a bat. Looking at the remaining cells, Gohan found more people with flashily colored costumes. A man in a red spandex jumpsuit with lightning bolts scattered all over, a man wearing a blue and red jumpsuit with a cape and a large "S" on the chest, and another man wearing a black and green jumpsuit with a lantern in the middle. The farthest cell on the right held a light blue alien with a spear-like head and glowing yellow eyes.

'_Why does this remind me of the Ginyu force?' _He thought, giving a small chuckle.

Another guard attempted to attack him from behind, throwing a punch, but Gohan managed to dodge it, grabbing the alien and throwing him into the bat man's force field, electrocuting him.

'_At this rate,' _Gohan thought, seeing how Wonder Woman was taking on three guards at once now, '_we're going to be swarmed with Thanagarian guards within minutes. Better speed this up.'_

Increasing his power high enough without giving off his aura, Gohan punched the control panel holding the bat man's force field, and then flashed in and out of the air from cell to cell, quickly destroying each control panel along the way. He then reappeared outside of the first cell again. Leaning down to the guard, he took a key out of his belt and unlocked the bat man's restraints.

"Who are you?" Batman asked cautiously, standing up.

Gohan stared back at him seriously, replying, "Someone who's here to help."

Batman raised an eyebrow.

"Look, do you want to stand here and talk, or do you want to help the rest of the League?"

"Point taken."

Batman ran over to unlock Superman from his restraints, and Gohan took a moment to observe the dark man. While his energy wasn't much higher than a regular humans', Gohan was impressed to see a large potential hiding underneath, one that, if explored more, would probably make the man stronger than some of the weaker Z fighters in his world.

'_Huh, kind of like how Piccolo could see my potential.' _He thought, while he went to the cell on his left to help the Flash. He carefully supported the man, making sure not to hold on too tightly.

"I feel like I just ran a marathon on Jupiter." Flash muttered, barely able to stand up straight.

"It's okay." Gohan said, "Lean on me."

"Thanks Bats…" Flash responded, looking up at the Saiyan. "Hey, you're not Bats!"

Gohan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "No, I'm not. Focus, please! We have more important things to worry about right now!"

Nodding, the Flash sped off to help Wonder Woman, and Gohan paused again, watching how fast the man was running.

'_Huh,' _he thought, _'this guy has a lot of energy hiding within too. I wonder if I could help them unlock their power sometime in the future.' _

Focusing on the present once again, Gohan launched himself into the fray, plowing through several guards that had just entered. To his right, Wonder Woman was dealing with her opponents in the same way, while Flash, Batman and Superman were using electrical sledgehammers and axes, and J'onn was twirling electrical nunchaku. Green Lantern, with his restraints still in place, resorted to using them as reflexive weapons. For the moment it seemed as if the seven were dominating the fight. But as more and more Thanagarian guards joined the fray, Gohan realized that they would soon be overwhelmed if they didn't resort to a different tactic. He looked at the ceiling he had busted a hole into to make his way in, and it hit him.

'_Of course!' _He thought, '_Some of them can fly! If I bust the ship, we can escape and fly away!'_

"Justice League!" Gohan shouted, capturing their attention, "We need to leave now! We're not going to last much longer at this rate!"

"How do you propose we make our escape?" Batman enquired, observing the boy curiously.

Gohan frowned, his face set in determination. "Like THIS!"

'_Now remember…'_ He thought, '_Don't show all of your power yet. This Justice League may appear to be good, but anyone can turn on you. If Vegeta can turn out to be on our side, then anything's possible._ _I don't want to give them a reason to fear me.'_

He quickly cupped his hands to his forehead, and to Batman's astonishment, a ball of yellow light appeared in his hands, pulsating and crackling with electricity.

"MASENKO…"

Realizing what the kid was about to do, Batman shouted to his fellow adversaries, "GET DOWN, NOW!"

"HAAAA!"

With a yell, Gohan released a large beam of energy that soared through the air and almost completely obliterated the right side of the ship, leaving a large gaping hole. The Flash, who had been fighting Thanagarians on the other side, looked up at the sudden explosion.

"How…?"

He was interrupted as the ship gave a shudder and began to fall through the air.

"We're losing altitude fast!" Wonder Woman said, flying over to grab J'onn and Green Lantern, while Superman scooped up the Flash. "We need to go now!"

She quickly exited through the hole, her comrades in tow, and Superman flew over to pick up Batman. However, Gohan was closer, and Superman was still weak from the red sun radiation, so he took the opportunity to fly over and grab him himself. As the remaining four left the ship, Batman turned his head around to watch it catch fire and explode in several spots before finally landing in the ocean. Looking upward, he stared at the expression on the young boy's face. It was hardened and serious, but for all the destruction he had caused, he didn't look the least bit exhausted.

'_He just destroyed a large portion of a technologically advanced spaceship with that strange light, and he doesn't even seem to be breaking a sweat.' _Batman thought, the analytical part of his brain trying to process this information. '_In addition to that, he has super-strength and the ability to fly. And by the looks of it, he's not even a teenager yet. Just who IS this kid?'_

As the six members of the Justice League and the young Sayian left the Thanagarian ship to drown, the afternoon sun gave off a heavenly glow, illuminating the group in a peaceful yellow-orange light. On any other day, this would signify that it was a time for relaxation, a time to unwind and enjoy the simplicity of life. But today, as it lowered further and further towards the horizon and the sky turned red, the seven of them knew that the end of the day would only be the beginning.

* * *

A solitary ship settled on the landing bay of the main Thanagarian aircraft. As the soldier stepped out, the bottom entrance to the aircraft opened and he was met with Hro Talak, Hawkgirl, now going by Shayera Hol, and Halak's right hand man, Kragger.

"Commander," The soldier said, "There's been a security breach aboard the prison shuttle. The Justice League has escaped."

Kragger frowned, "How did it happen?"

"They're the Justice League, that's how it happened." Shayera responded, knowing full well this was going to happen.

"Take a strike squad back to the surface." Talak commanded to Kragger, "Search every house, every building, look under every rock. Find them."

"By your command." Kragger was about to leave and carry out the command, when the unnamed soldier interrupted.

"Wait! There's one more thing."

"What?" Talak demanded, losing his patience.

"The Justice League escaped, but not by themselves. We had them under control, but this young boy came in and broke them out."

"WHAT?!" Talak barked, his face growing red from anger. "YOU COULDN'T EVEN STOP ONE BOY FROM TAKING DOWN OUR TRAINED GUARDS?!"

"Sir…" The guard whimpered, cowering under Talak's glare, "He destroyed nearly half the shuttle without even trying. Some are saying he was even more powerful than _Superman._"

At this, Talak, Kragger, and even Shayera blanched at the man's comments. A boy who possibly had more power than _Superman_, the main founder of the Justice League and the most powerful man in the world?

'_If what this guard is saying is true,' _Shayera thought, her fingers curing around her mace, '_Then carrying out our mission is going to be a lot harder than I thought.'_

Author's Note: And that's chapter 2! Thanks to all who've reviewed so far, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. So yes, Gohan has met the Justice League, not formally yet, but we'll get to that soon. I tried to make it plausible that Gohan would not reveal the extent of his powers yet, since the Justice League has reason to fear their own powers, if the battle with the Justice Lords was any indication. The next chapter may take a little longer to write, because it's Monday now, and I'm in college. Busy busy busy. So please be patient.

On a side note, you now know who the mystery people are, the ones Gohan sensed with high energy potentials. It's Batman and Flash! Obviously, I chose Batman because he has no powers, and even though Flash has super speed, he's physically weaker than the rest, so he was the next logical choice. Also, both of them are the only of the original seven that can't fly. That part will come into fruition later.

I know in the last chapter, someone said it was spread out a little too long, but I like to add detail to my stories, leaving nothing important out. So, this will probably end up being a very long story. Here's to chapter 3!


	3. Introductions and Curious Disguises

Author's Note: I'm surprised. Two chapters, and I've already got eighteen reviews. In fact, two more appeared as I started writing this new chapter. This may soon become my most popular story yet. But speaking of the reviews, I've noticed a third of them are arguments over the power levels of the characters. This story is fictional, and while it mostly follows the cartoon, I've already made it clear using evidence that Gohan is stronger than Superman, however only slightly in his normal state. There's no need to discuss power levels that became unimportant in DBZ after the Frieza saga anyway. Please, if you're going to review my story, comment on the quality of the story itself.

Anyway, now that the two groups have met, it's time to start planning. Thankfully, this time, the Justice League has a powerful half-saiyan to help him. However, along the way, our favorite Batman might start getting suspicious. Especially when Gohan pulls off a certain little stunt…

Also, someone commented on the dialogue I was adding in the last chapter, calling some of it clumsy and unnecessary. That person is entitled to their opinion, but since I usually consider dialogue to be my strength, I'd like to know what the rest of you think.

**Chapter 3: Introductions and Curious Disguises**

The six Justice League members and the young Saiyan moved swiftly and silently through the darkly lit street, crossing it just before two patrolling Thanagarians passed by. Ever since escaping into the city, the seven knew any activity less stealthy than what they were doing now would result in them getting caught. And right now, for obvious reasons, they could not afford that.

The group reached the end of the alleyway and Green Lantern took the lead, leaning out carefully into the next street. Spotting the Thanagarian guards facing the opposite direction, he whispered to the others,

"Go!"

The seven rushed into the parallel alley, and, seeing no officers on the road, were prepared to continue running into the next alley. But, sensing someone nearby, Gohan jumped in front of them and held out a hand.

"Wait!"

Motioning silently, he pointed to the building facing the alleyway, where two more officers were standing. He moved back just before they managed to notice him. As the group waited, a large tank rolled down the street, flanked by two more officers. Standing in the top of the tank was General Kragger, and, thinking he noticed some movement, he shined a light into the alley. Luckily, the group had managed to hide behind a couple of dumpsters just in time. As Kragger and his men continued down the street, the two officers on the building took flight and left the scene.

The group got out of their hiding spots, and considered moving back the way they came, but as they turned around, two shadows appeared in the small light at the end and grew larger.

"We've gotta move, people." Flash said.

Turning back, the seven ran down the now abandoned street and into the next alley, feeling as if they were starting to run in a maze. Approaching a lone door, Wonder Woman quickly crushed the handle and opened it, allowing the others to walk in. A few feet back, Green Lantern turned to Superman, holding up his still restrained hands.

"Could you give me a hand with these?"

Nodding, Superman used his heat vision to fry the locks, grimacing as he did so.

"…Still not back to full strength." He muttered, prompting Gohan to look back at him interestedly.

'_His strength has been increasing this whole time we've been hiding.' _He thought to himself. _'It's slowing down now, but it looks like he's going to be just about as strong as I am. That's going to be helpful.'_

After a few more seconds, the locks on Green Lantern's hands popped open, and he gave a small "Much better. Thanks." to Superman, absentmindedly rubbing his sore wrists. The rest of the group went inside, while Batman said to Wonder Woman,

"Diana, cover our tracks."

Wonder Woman took the nearby dumpster and dragged it in front of the door before flying inside, narrowly avoiding several more soldiers that flew overhead. The seven of them moved further inside the building, and upon closer inspection, they found it to be an abandoned clothing store.

"That x-ray vision working yet?" Green Lantern asked Superman.

Superman looked up. "Just enough to see hawk soldiers still patrolling the skies."

"There's also a bunch more moving down one of the streets close by." Gohan added, noticing the cluster of energy signatures.

"How'd you know that?" Superman inquired.

"I could sense them." The members of the League all raised their eyebrows at that, but decided to leave it be.

"They'll have the whole city covered by now." J'onn said, his eyes glowing furiously.

Flash, ever the lighthearted one, tried to lift everyone's spirits. "Who knows? Maybe they'll get tired and go home."

The other five Leaguers merely glared at him, while Gohan rolled his eyes.

Flinching, Flash said, "Yeah I know. But a little optimism at a time like this couldn't hurt."

"_**This is the voice of the Thanagarian occupational authority.' **_A booming voice interrupted, making the seven turn their heads. Outside the store, an aircraft slowly moved down the street, shining a light on all the scared civilians.

"_**Your so called Justice League is in violation of our Martial Law. They are to be considered an enemy, and dealt with on sight. Any person found aiding or harboring them, will be summarily punished."**_

Dejected, the Flash slumped his shoulders. "Okay, so much for optimism."

"For the time being," Batman said, "We're going to have to go underground."

"How exactly do we hide if the entire planet is looking for us?" Diana questioned.

"They're looking for the Justice League." J'onn answered, fingering a coat on one of the racks. "Without our costumes, we are merely ordinary citizens." As he said this, he morphed into a middle-aged man in a trench coat and red ascot.

Batman paused at this, looking at the young boy who had released them from their prison. He was standing next to Diana, an innocent expression on his face.

Looking back at J'onn, he said. "Yes, that's all fine and good. But there's just one problem."

"What's that?" Gohan asked.

Wasting no time, Batman stalked up to the young Saiyan and leaned down close to his face.

"How do we know we can trust you?"

The rest of the League stared at Batman for a moment, before turning their attention to the boy, who was looking at the Dark Knight in shock. Realizing his implications, they glared at Gohan as well, tensing their shoulders.

"Are you being serious?"

Gohan was surprised at being put under the spotlight so suddenly, but as Batman stared at him through the blank lenses of his cowl, he couldn't help but feel a little bit miffed.

"You're questioning me, after what I just did for you? That's doesn't seem fair."

"We don't know anything about you, kid." Batman responded, not faltering at the Saiyan's angry expression. "We've never seen you before, and for someone to just appear out of nowhere with abilities such as yours, and help us escape without much effort makes it quite understandable for us to be cautious."

"He's right, kid." Flash agreed, stepping forward, "We've had people who have claimed to be on our side before. Sometimes they're telling the truth, but other times, they backstab us and get us in worse trouble."

"What reason would I have to backstab you? I don't know any of you."

"Villains don't always need a reason." Superman rumbled. "Sometimes they just become villains for the fun of it. And how do we know you're not lying to us right now?"

Gohan could feel his anger building, and was considering going Super Saiyan to make them back off, but he quickly composed himself, taking a deep breath.

"Look, what would I need to do in order to prove to you I'm on your side?"

Taking advantage of his comment, J'onn moved beside the boy.

"If you will allow it, I could read your emotions and confirm your claims for everyone here."

Gohan stared up at the tall alien, trying to decipher his expressions for any hint of malice. His face was completely blank, but when Gohan looked into his morphed light brown eyes, he saw warmth lying within, along with a wisdom that spoke of hundreds of years of experience.

Giving a small smile, Gohan sat down on a chair. "Alright. I'll do it. But can you make sure just to read my emotions? I like having my thoughts to myself."

"Don't worry." J'onn reassured, grabbing another chair and sitting down beside the boy. "Emotions often dominate the mind more than thoughts. They'll be much easier to detect and will tell us everything we need to know."

Making sure to be gentle, J'onn placed his fingers on Gohan's forehead and tried to feel around for the dominant emotions. With he was an expert in telepathy, empathy was a much more primitive form of mind-reading, and therefore much harder to control. As her searched deeper and deeper into the boy's subconscious, a few emotions made themselves apparent.

The first was the happiness one would see in a child, which John expected, seeing as the boy was clearly still one. Still, it made him smile as an image of a four-year old with long, shaggy hair laughing in his fathers' arms flickered briefly past his mind. Looking further, J'onn was impressed to find a remarkable amount of courage stored inside that happiness, and it was accompanied by an image of that same boy, a year or two older now, fighting a large man with orange hair in an effort to defend a small, bald man behind him.

However, as he sensed that emotion, it was accompanied by another. And this one caused J'onn to frown slightly. Amidst that courage was unbridled rage and an almost animal-like fury, which warped its way into an image of the boy brutally attacking a bulky purple alien with horns on its head, jabbing it painfully in the stomach and blasting with repeated energy strikes.

J'onn found himself to be a little disturbed at that image, but he tried his best to ignore it and focused on finding emotions directed at him and the rest of the League. To his relief, he found nothing that could be used against them. All he saw was mild interest and concern directed at them, and determination to help them fight the invasion. Satisfied, J'onn prepared to leave the boy's mind, but before he could, he sensed something else. Something much more prominent and potent than any of the others. He tried to probe it carefully with his mind, when all of a sudden, his mind was bombarded with a multitude of horrifying images.

The boy waking up to find out his father had been murdered, watching his father's friends get destroyed right in front of him, losing his mentor because he was too scared, watching his best friend get killed and his other friend get impaled because he was too weak, getting brutally beaten by the orange-haired man and the purple alien from before…standing alone, thinking himself a failure…

But among that, one image rose to stand above the rest…

And it was of the boy, not much younger than he was now, screaming to the heavens with golden hair and eyes the brightest turquoise.

"Augh!" J'onn choked out, releasing his hold on Gohan's mind and falling backwards. The Flash immediately zipped over and caught him before he hit the ground.

"J'onn, are you alright?!"

Rubbing his head wearily, J'onn looked back up at the kid, who was gazing back at him with concern, although his eyes were a little unfocused, suggesting he was a little dizzy from the mind-probing.

"Yes, Flash. I'm alright."

He was lying. Never before had he seen such pain reflected in one so young. With all the events he had been through, it was a wonder he hadn't lost his mind already. Losing his friends and family was not something J'onn was unfamiliar with, but he had been an adult at the time, and therefore could handle it better. J'onn only hoped the boy would be able to retain some of his childlike innocence, because he guessed that if this boy were to be pushed too far, combined with the power he had presented earlier, the results would be catastrophic. For that reason, he felt it was too risky for the others to know right now how damaged the boy was. He felt even the boy wasn't completely aware of his pain yet.

But what he wasn't counting on, was a certain detective who noticed the grimace on his face and the worry in his eyes.

'_He's hiding something.' _Batman realized. '_I've never seen him this shaken up from a mind-probing before. There's no time to interrogate now, but I intend to get to the bottom of this.'_

Sensing J'onn's distress, Diana grabbed Gohan by the collar and lifted him up to her face.

"What did you do to him?!" She demanded, shaking the boy fiercely. Gohan, for his part, was still a little disoriented, so he did little to fight back.

"No, Diana!" J'onn said, "It's alright. The boy has done nothing wrong."

Calming down, Diana put Gohan back on the ground and gave a silent apology.

"I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment. While it was hard to sift through all of his emotions, I did not detect any ill will towards us. If anything, he was determined to help us."

"It's true." Gohan said, finally getting out of his daze. "When I learned about what had happened, I knew I had to help. My father always taught me to protect the innocent, and to put other people's need before your own."

Batman's eyes softened at those words, thinking of his own father. "Your father seems like a great man."

"Yeah." Gohan agreed, giving a childish smile. "He can be silly, but he taught me everything I know. He's the main reason I'm as powerful as I am."

"Wait," Flash interrupted, "What do you mean by that? Did your dad train you or something?"

"Yep." Gohan responded simply.

"But, don't you think you're a little too young for that? You can't be more than twelve."

"Uh…I'm actually ten."

At this, every one of the Leaguers' eyes except for J'onn's widened. They had gotten saved by a _TEN YEAR-OLD_? Never had they heard of someone with that kind of power at that age. Noticing all of their reactions, Gohan muttered quietly,

"Well, I'm almost eleven…"

"Someone's been taking his vitamins." Flash mumbled to Superman, who fought back a chuckle.

"Where's your father now?" Batman asked.

At this, Gohan's smile faded, and for a brief moment, Batman could see an underlying trace of fear and sadness in those obsidian eyes, reflecting a maturity far beyond his years.

'_There it is again.' _Batman thought, '_Just like J'onn, this kid is hiding something important from the rest of us. Whatever it is, it has something to do with his father.'_

"Look, it doesn't matter how old I am." Gohan said, purposely ignoring Batman's question and standing up. "All that matters is that I'm here to help you guys, whether you want it or not. So do you trust me?"

The six Leaguers looked at each other, a silent conversation going on between them, before finally making a decision, and turning back to the boy.

"We trust you." Superman said.

"No need to worry, kid." Green Lantern added, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Given the situation, we'll take all the help we can get."

Gohan looked up at John and gave a small smile, appreciating the support.

"In the meantime, kid." Batman spoke, "I believe introductions are in order." Reaching up, he removed the cowl on his face to reveal a handsome man with rich black hair and sparkling blue eyes. "In the League I'm known as Batman, but in everyday life, I go by Bruce Wayne."

Both Flash and Green Lantern's eyes instantly widened in surprise. They had not expected Batman to even reveal his identity, let alone be Bruce Wayne, wealthy billionaire and notorious womanizer.

"Uh, Bats." Flash said, raising his hands in caution. "Are you so sure you want to tell this kid who we are? I mean, I trust him enough, but I'm not sure I'm ready to…"

"Wally," Bruce interjected, making the Flash wince at the sound of his real name. "This is not the time. Like J'onn said, we have to blend in with the populace in order to have any chance of sneaking past the Thanagarian army. Whether you like it or not, the mask comes off. NOW."

Flash stood there for a second, turning to look at the remaining members who were all gazing back at him expectantly. Realizing he was the only one left wearing a mask, he huffed and pulled it backwards to reveal a youthful face with shocking red hair.

"Flash is my superhero name." Wally said to Gohan, "But my real name is Wally West."

Diana was next. "Diana of Themyscira, Wonder Woman."

"John Stewart, Green Lantern."

"J'onn J'onzz, though some on this planet have taken to calling me the Martin Manhunter."

And finally, Superman walked up to Gohan and held out a hand in greeting, a friendly smile on his face.

"Clark Kent, Superman."

Gohan looked at the proffered hand for only a second, before grinning himself and taking it in a firm handshake, one that Superman noted had a lot of strength behind it.

"I don't go by any superhero name." The Saiyan said, "My name is Gohan, and I hope that I'll be able to prove myself essential in helping you guys."

"For the sake of the entire planet," Superman agreed, "We hope so too."

Suddenly, a suit jacket hit Clark in the face, surprising him.

"Change." Bruce ordered, walking past, "Now."

A few minutes later, the seven were all dressed in much less obvious clothing, standing in the edge of the alleyway beside the store and looking out into the street. Gohan, knowing the Thanagarian army would easily notice his spiky hair, had covered it with a baseball cap, and had traded his armor for a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans.

"We need to split up." John said. "They'll be looking for seven of us. We can split up into two groups of two and one group of three."

"A rendezvous point?" J'onn asked.

"We're about thirty miles from Gotham city." Bruce muttered. "We can regroup at my house there. Gohan, you resemble me and Diana the most, so it would be best for you to come with us and act like we're a family."

"Okay. That makes sense." Gohan agreed.

"Now everyone, remember. Try and keep a low profile."

Quietly, Bruce, Diana, and Gohan walked out of the alleyway to the right, while Superman and J'onn began crossing the street, leaving Wally and John to exit to the left.

"Thirty miles through hawk-infested territory." Wally huffed, rolling his eyes. "No problem."

The three groups went their separate ways, while the nearby Thanagarians were none the wiser.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the Thanagarian mothership, Hro Talak was on the video feed with Paran Dul, the main lieutenant in charge of constructing the supposed force shield on Earth, while Shayera worked nearby.

"The construction proceeds as scheduled." Dul announced. "We have added humans to the workforce."

"Are they of any use?" Talak questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"They have no technical expertise to speak of. But they can carry and lift as well as any animal. We should complete the project by the target date."

"Be aware that the Justice League has escaped, and that they seem to have recruited a boy with the same powers as Superman. Stand ready for an attack."

"Let them come." Dul said, not at all concernced. "It would only be suicide."

"Keep me informed of your progress. And Paran, let nothing delay you." Talak's scowl deepened at his own words.

"By your command." And with that, the video feed ended.

Shayera, having listened to the entire conversation, walked up to Talak, an anxious look on her face.

"Humans working as slaves?" She questioned.

"Unfortunate, but necessary." Talak dismissed. "We are on an unforgiving schedule. And if we're going to finish the Hyperspace Bypass in time…"

"Bypass?" Shayera interrupted, growing increasingly concerned. "I thought we were building a force shield."

"That was merely the cover story."

Shayera stared disbelievingly, her mouth in the beginnings of a frown. "…So when were you going to tell me your real plans? Or didn't you think you could trust me?"

The two regarded each other for a few seconds, neither one breaking eye contact, before Talak relented.

"Come." He said, directing her into another room, where he proceed to turn on a monitor that displayed a diagram of planets and stars. As Shayera watched, a line went through each of the planets, connecting them in a chain.

"For decades," Talak narrated, "the Gordanian home world has been protected behind an impregnable defensive line. But this chain of Hyperspace bypasses, will allow our armadas to jump behind their defenses, and make a direct assault on the heart of their empire. Earth is the last link in that chain. Once the chain is completed, we can attack and wipe out the Gordanian threat forever."

"But if we open a hole in Hyperspace, it will destroy this entire planet." Shayera realized in shock.

"Sadly, yes." Talak admitted, not looking too sorry about it. "For Thanagar to live, Earth must die."

Shayera's mouth opened, a horrorstricken look on her face. Slowly, she turned away from Talak and began walking back to her private headquarters.

'_Is saving the planet of my people really worth all of these humans' lives?' _She thought. '_Thanagar may be my home, but the people of Earth have taken me in and practically accepted me as one of their own, at least until recently. And the Justice League, they were some of the best friends I ever had, especially John.'_

Smiling sadly, she looked out the window into the starry night.

'_I don't know what to do.' _She confessed. '_But for the sake of this planet, I sure hope the Justice League does. And this new kid, I hope he's as powerful as they say he is. The League's going to need the help.'_

* * *

"They were here." Lieutenant Kragger determined, looking at the tags on the floor of the clothing store. Just moments ago, he had gotten word from one of the soldiers that they had found evidence to the whereabouts of the Justice League. The abandoned cuffs and broken door handle had been enough, but these tags just sealed it. He instantly spoke into his communicator.

"The Justice League is trying to pass themselves off as civilians. Search door to door, question everyone. Do not let them slip away."

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Bruce, Diana, and Gohan were casually walking down the street, looking no less suspicious than the rest of the humans. They came up to a nearby electronics store, where a Thanagarian officer was broadcast speaking calmly to the viewers.

"_**We are here to serve the people of Earth."**_ He said. _**"We serve the people, by making certain that you do is in your best interest. What is in your best interest, is to do as we say. Only by obeying us, can we serve you."**_

The three tried hard not to show their anger at the statement as they passed the store, but it became hard as they neared a man and woman being hounded by two hawk soldiers.

"Your, identification." The one soldier spoke in a monotone voice, snatching the woman's purse.

"Hey, leave her alone!" The man said, trying to intervene, but he was quickly shoved to the ground.

Scowling, Diana made to move forward, but was stopped by Bruce grabbing on to her arm.

"Diana, no."

She glared back at Bruce. "You would stand here and do nothing?"

"We can't risk a confrontation here."

"He's right." Gohan added, tugging his cap further over his hair. "We wouldn't have many ways to conceal ourselves if we were caught."

However, it seemed the three heroes weren't the ones in need of concealing.

"Hey, birdheads!" A teenager in a building above the scene shouted. "Go back to where you came from! Get off our planet!" As he said this, he and his friend chucked a few rocks at the soldiers, which balanced harmlessly off their armor. Still, it prompted the one soldier to shoot his laser at them. Just missing the teenagers, the laser did break of a chunk of the building, which began falling towards the man and woman.

Having had enough, Diana rushed forward and grabbed the two, flying them off to a safe spot. The soldiers stared at the display dumbly for a few seconds, which gave Bruce just enough time to knock out one of the guards with a flying side kick, while Gohan appeared out of nowhere next to the other and incapacitated him with a swift chop to the neck. The three stood in place for a second, and…

"Over there, it's the Justice League!" Another soldier shouted out, coming from out of the adjacent alleyway with his partner in tow, their lasers firing at the discovered heroes. The three had no choice but to begin running.

"So much for blending in!" Bruce said, narrowly dodging the beams. Rounding the corner of the street, Bruce and Gohan continued running, while Diana grabbed a lamppost and easily ripped it off the ground. As the two soldiers reached the corner, Diana appeared in their view and swung the lamp like a baseball bat, smashing the hawk-men into the side of the building and effectively putting them out of commission. But they were not alone, and soon enough more lasers were shot at Diana's feet.

Bruce, having run back, grabbed Diana's arm and jerked her out of sight, and the three continued down the sidewalk. They realized that they were quickly running out of options. If they didn't find a secure place to hide now, they would be forced to fight, and would unavoidably draw the attention of the entire Thanagarian army.

However, fate was smiling at them that night, as they reached a nearby restaurant, and a short man in a turban ran out to greet them.

Motioning with his hand, the man said urgently, "In here!"

The three stopped beside the man, looking at each other nervously, then looking behind them where they knew the hawk-people would be soon.

"Please, hurry!"

Nodding, they all ran inside the restaurant, and the man closed the door just before the Thanagarians rounded the corner. Once inside, the man began leading the heroes to a table on the far end.

"We can't stay here." Bruce reasoned. "If they find you helping us…"

Shaking his head, the man brought them to the empty seats. "Sit here."

He motioned to his wife, who hastily wrapped a blue cloth around Diana's forehead and tied it together.

"Wait!" Diana whispered to Gohan, "Your hat! It's too identifiable!"

Blanching, Gohan ripped off the hat and hid it under the table, but as he did, he also realized, "But without my hat, they'll see my hair and recognize me from before!"

"Well you have to do something with it!" Bruce growled. "Find a way to disguise it, and fast!"

Gohan frantically went over his options. '_Oh man, with the hat they'll notice me, without it they'll notice me. There's got to be another...wait, I know!'_

Looking back at the door, he noticed the Thanagarian soldiers landing outside of the door, and knew he had very little time left.

'_Ok Gohan, concentrate. This shouldn't be too hard at this point. Don't make a scene. Just relax and let it happen naturally.'_

Taking a deep breath, Gohan raised his power as quickly as he could so that his aura wouldn't flash around him, and before he knew it, his hair had faded from raven black to bright golden-yellow. Looking up, he fingered a lock and smiled. He had done it.

He was a Super Sayian once again.

Bruce and Diana stared open-mouthed at what they had just seen, and were seriously considering bombarding him with questions right now, but they were stopped when one of the hawk soldiers opened the door to the restaurant and began looking inside. Reacting fast, Diana pulled Bruce's face in for a tender kiss.

The man in the turban composed himself and walked up to the hawk soldiers, his face one of mild interest.

The soldier said to him, "We're looking for a dark-haired man and woman, as well as a dark-haired boy in a low-brimmed hat."

"If perhaps, you could be more specific." The turbaned man responded, gesturing around him, where the soldier was a bit annoyed to see that nearly everyone in the restaurant had dark hair, and not one person had a hat on.

"Has anyone entered here recently?"

"…No."

"What about those three?" The soldier asked, pointing at Bruce, Diana, and Gohan.

"Ah, the lovebirds." The man replied, as Bruce and Diana continued to kiss each other. "Been there with their son for hours."

Deciding to play along with the act, Gohan put on a fake, whiny voice and cried, "C'mon mom! C'mon dad! We've been here all day! I wanna go home!"

Stopping their kiss, Bruce and Diana smiled at each other, with Bruce fake-admonishing, "Consider this a punishment for what you did to your hair without our permission." The two adults began kissing again.

Smiling, the turbaned man said to the Thanagarian, "The boy you described did not have golden hair, is that correct?"

"Yes it is."

"Then I see no reason to pursue any further in this establishment."

Grunting, the hawk-man said to his comrades, "Let's move on," and they all left.

Seeing them leave, Diana finally broke away from the kiss and gave Bruce an embarrassed, "Sorry."

"Don't be." Bruce said, flashing his trademark playboy smirk.

The turbaned man walked back to the trio and brought them out of their seats. "Follow me." He said, taking them to the back door. Once there, Diana removed her bandana and laid it to side, leaving the building with a renewed determination. Gohan followed, opting to stay Super Saiyan for the time being, seeing as he no longer had his baseball cap, and Bruce came out last, giving one last thankful nod to the turbaned man before closing the door behind him.

"Alright." Bruce said, catching Diana's and Gohan's attention. "We've still got a long way to go before we get to my house. But if we can at least make it out of this city, I can contact my butler, Alfred, and he can drive us there."

"Sounds like a plan." Diana approved, continuing to lead the way. Gohan began to follow, but was stopped when Bruce grabbed his arm.

"What's the matter?" Gohan asked, staring into Bruce's bright blue eyes, which were narrowed dangerously.

"Just because the rest of the League and I trust you now," Bruce growled, leaning in close, "That doesn't mean I'm not suspicious of what you can do. Especially with that **little stunt** you just pulled back there, I have more reason to be concerned as to whether or not you pose a threat to us."

Bruce wasn't exactly sure what Gohan had done back in the restaurant, but he knew it had to be more than simple shape-shifting abilities. Knowing J'onn, he knew that shape-shifting did not require that much effort to accomplish, and even when he tried to reason that Gohan could just be inexperienced with his powers, he remembered how effortlessly Gohan had destroyed the prison ship.

That, coupled with how Gohan reacted to the mention of his father, gave Bruce reason to believe he could either become a great asset, or a very real danger.

Gohan merely stared back at Bruce. "Believe me." He said, "I'm not going to become a threat to you. I'm here to help you."

Bruce let go of his arm. "Okay, I do believe you for now. But I hope you understand that once we figure out exactly what the Thanagarians are up to, you'll probably be in for a fight unlike anything you've ever experienced."

Smiling sadly, Gohan said, "Somehow, I seriously doubt that."

Bruce could only stare as Gohan left to find Diana, before reminding himself of what they had to do and following behind. Clearly, the boy was not unfamiliar to the pains of battle, and once again, Bruce could sense an odd development within him, reflecting a man before his time.

'_Kind of like I was, when I lost my parents.' _Bruce thought, putting a hand to his chin. '_Hmmm…curiouser and curiouser.'_

Author's Note: And that's chapter 3! Whew, this one was much harder than the first two, but I think it paid off. Already twenty-seven reviews as I'm posting this, so thanks to all that have responded. I tried to make it plausible that Gohan would have some issues, after all, he was forced into his first battle at age five, and has seen more people die than most people in general, let alone his own age. He isn't going to become completely angsty and out of character, but I'm going to try and develop his character in a way that probably should have been explored more in this show.

Anyway, J'onn has sensed a lot of his troubles now, Batman is getting suspicious, and even Diana has noticed a few things about our young Saiyan. It's not going to be easy for Gohan to hide everything he experienced, let alone his full powers. For the next few chapters, I will focus less on his troubles and more on the Thanagarian invasion and how it plays differently with Gohan in the mix. After that, I have plans for interactions between our main characters, which I'm still working on in my mind, but I hope play out well. Time to start working on chapter 4!

And yes, I did end on an Alice in Wonderland quote. Why? Because I felt like it.

Update: Sorry for the update, which may have made some of you believe chapter 4 was out already. I'm not that quick. Just had a typo that was really bugging me.


	4. Love Lost and Decisions Made

Author's Note: Chapter 4 time! I'm starting this immediately after posting Chapter 3, but my next few days are a little busy, so I'm not sure when you'll get this. I can at least guarantee it'll be here before the weekend. This chapter will focus less on Bruce's suspicion about Gohan, although there will be a note of it in the beginning, and more on Shayera's decision about helping the Justice League, with a "small" change that I'll be adding in. This will also briefly show Gohan's curiosity about Batman's past as he looks at the memorabilia in the Batcave. I know, it's a little bit much at once, but I promise I'll make it work later on.

Also, to the two guests who are still arguing over power levels as of Wednesday, STOP. NOW. I don't want reviews like that for my story. This is more towards one than the other, because one of you is actually focusing more on the story itself, but please, this is a fanfiction. No one cares about power level numbers in a fanfiction.

But still, thanks to all of you for making this my most reviewed story yet, clocking in currently at 39!

Update: As I was writing this, some people questioned why I'm having Gohan hold back his full power. Well, there's several reasons. One, even though Gohan's working with the Justice League now, he knows that people can change, and he wants to keep the element of surprise. Two, the Justice League has reason to fear their own power, as demonstrated by fighting the Justice Lords, and later in the series, that plot point becomes more prominent. If Gohan were to reveal his true power, which is miles ahead of Superman's, it would cause distrust within the group, and that can't happen right now. It will happen later, but not now. Three, it's my story, so there, discussion over.

**Chapter 4: Love Lost and Decisions Made  
**

Bruce, Diana, and Gohan arrived at the mansion first, Bruce's butler Alfred transporting them by limousine. It had been difficult getting out of the city, and there had been a few close calls, but they were relieved to finally be at a place they knew they'd be safe. Stopping in front of the front door, Alfred got out of the car first and held it open for the three superheroes.

"Thanks, Mr. Alfred." Gohan said as he exited the car last, bowing politely and walking through the door, turning around as Alfred closed it behind him.

"Please, Master Gohan." Alfred replied with a wave of his hand. "The pleasure's all mine."

Gohan grinned, marveling over how calm Alfred seemed about all this. The League was on the verge of tackling a full-blown alien invasion, and this man was barely batting an eye. Not to mention, Bruce had hastily introduced the Saiyan to the loyal butler without much explanation, although to be fair he didn't have much to go off of anyway.

'_Alfred must be pretty used to this.'_ Gohan thought, '_After all, he does look after a man who routinely dresses up like a bat.'_

Bruce led the others to a nearby grandfather clock, where he proceeded to pull down on the pendulum, and to Gohan's surprise, it moved to the side to reveal a dark stairway. Walking down it, he noticed several display cases with lights inside, shining on various items. A pop gun, a gleaming sword, a wresting mask with a small tank attached to it, among others.

'_Prizes from battles.' _He realized, an impressed look on his face, as he continued gazing at the memorabilia. '_I imagine a man who dresses so eccentrically would have just as eccentric villains. Although I wonder, why "Batman"? The others I can kind of understand what their names are about, but what inspires a man to dress up like a bat all the time?'_

He stopped at one of the cases, which held a devilish looking clown mask inside. For some reason, Gohan couldn't help but be a little spooked at the sight of it.

'…_Guess I should forget about it for now. What we're dealing with now is far more important.'_

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, the group of four entered the underground cave, where Gohan was met with the sight of large command center, a giant supercomputer being the centerpiece. To the right, various bat-shaped cars littered a miniature parking lot, and to the left lay even more items from previous fights, the least subtle being a giant penny, and a life-sized replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Before he could even comprehend the strangeness of the place, a multitude of bats dropped down from the ceiling and fluttered loudly past the group, causing Gohan to cover his head in alarm.

'_Bats?!' _He thought, eyes widening before he chuckled quietly. '_Well of course. Bats for the Batman.'_

Turning around, he went over to the command center, where Bruce and Diana were already waiting for him, while Alfred stood respectively to the side.

"So…" Gohan said, looking around calmly. "What do we do now?"

Bruce replied, "At the moment, we have no choice to wait for the others to arrive."

"Hera can only hope they make it here as safely as we did, if that." Diana muttered to herself.

The three nodded in silent agreement, wishing their comrades the best of luck.

"In the meantime, kid." Bruce continued, "We're secure within my house, you can drop the camouflage."

"Huh?" Gohan said, looking up at his hair.

It was still golden.

"Oh, right." Taking a deep breath, Gohan allowed himself to drop out of Super Saiyan, his hair falling down slightly and returning to its normal black color.

"How exactly do you pull off a trick like that?" Diana inquired, putting a hand to her chin.

Thinking fast, Gohan said, "Well, it's sort of comes as a result of my training. My dad learned how to do it first, and after a while, he taught me how to do it as well."

"So besides training you in combat, your father trains you in deception?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Gohan smiled. As a whole, at least it wasn't a total lie, and Diana seemed satisfied enough.

"It seems like it would be pretty useful, actually." Bruce responded. "Even if it is just your hair and eye color."

Bruce had not missed the subtle changes in Gohan's face when Diana had asked him those questions. He could tell, the boy was not telling the complete truth.

'_Once this whole ordeal is over, I expect him to start talking.' _Bruce thought, '_Diana let him off easy. I won't be as benevolent.'_

* * *

Back on the Thanagarian mothership, Shayera stared out into the inky black sky, a calm expression plastered upon her face. But inside, she was troubled. Ever since realizing Talak's true plans, she had begun questioning everything she had been taught regarding war. Before, her mentality was that the strongest survived and the weakest deserved to perish. Shoot or be shot. But as she thought of the world below, she thought about all of the human beings she would be killing because of her race's desire to stay strong. These humans were indeed weak, but they had not done anything wrong to her people, and deserved none of the treatment they were currently receiving. Somehow, being on Earth the past five years had given her a new appreciation for life, and how precious it really was. She knew she couldn't take that away from so many, but at the same time, could she really let the same thing happen to her own kind? Her mind was a churning mess of emotions as she tried to determine the right answer.

'_Do I betray my entire race in order to save another, or do I protect my own people and let billions of innocents die?'_

'_Do I continue fighting with my fellow soldiers, or do I try and protect the six people that had become better friends than I could ever have hoped for?'_

And somehow, amongst those thoughts, appeared an image of Talak, standing stoically alongside a dark-skinned man with warm, glowing green eyes.

'_Do I stay with the man I think I love, or do I go back to man I thought I could've loved?'_

"What are you looking at?" The real Talak said, walking up from behind.

Shayera barely even turned her head to signify his presence. "Nothing."

"I have never seen anyone look at nothing so intently." Talak countered, smiling flirtatiously.

No response was given.

Talak's smile faded, and he put his hands on Shayera's shoulder. "I know this must be difficult for you."

"…Do you?"

"What is obligation, can sometimes feel like betrayal. But our only true obligation is to Thanagar."

"There must be another way." Shayera entreated, turning to face her betrothed. "Can't you re-route the bypass through some uninhabited planet or moon?"

"Any alteration would set us back more than five years, and every moment we delay is equal to the blood of our people."

"That still doesn't give us the right!" Shayera said, gesturing to the world below her. "There are billions of lives down there!"

Becoming increasingly livid, Talak reminded the former Hawkgirl, "We are at war. Have you forgotten why we fight? Or what horrors the Gordanians are capable of? Have you forgotten my long years rotting in their stinking prison camps?!"

He removed his helmet to reveal a long, jagged scar that ran over his right eye and down his cheek, his cat-like eyes blazing with a tortured fury.

"I haven't!

And that's when Shayera realized the truth, as she stared into the ruthless face of the man standing before her. This wasn't the man she had loved once upon a time. He had been kinder, less blood-hungry, more willing to sacrifice himself for the good of others. This…creature standing in front of her was no more than an empty husk, a mechanical being that annihilated any poor being that stopped it from reaching its objective. Her love would have found another way to save their race, her love wouldn't be sacrificing these humans. But Shayera wasn't looking at her betrothed anymore, she was looking at a monster.

"I have forgotten nothing." She said calmly, coming to a decision. "But this war is no excuse to…"

"I am your commander!" Talak snarled, grabbing her harshly by the shoulders. "You will not question me!"

Not even flinching, Shayera scowled and said in the most threatening whisper,

"…I don't even know you anymore."

Behind the two of them, General Kragger cleared his throat, capturing their attention. Talak quickly put back on his helmet.

"What is it?!" He growled.

"We've lost track of the Justice League and their new comrade." Kragger said, walking up to the pair. "They've blended with the populace. It will be difficult to find them. Unless of course…"

Grinning wickedly, Kragger turned his head to Shayera.

"…You know where they are?"

He failed to notice Shayera's eyes narrow dangerously, and before he could blink, she grabbed him by the throat and thrust him roughly against a nearby control panel.

"You're a long way from home." Shayera said, her left fist tightening in anger. "If you ever want to see it again then I suggest you _tread lightly._"

She let go of his throat, and he collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. Looking up, he saw her give him one last look of disdain before leaving the room without making a sound.

Kragger stood up, still rubbing his neck, turning to Talak with a smirk on his face.

"She never did answer the question, did she?"

Talak's only response was to stare at the empty hallway his beloved Shayera no longer occupied.

* * *

Wally West and John Stewart walked up to the front door of Bruce Wayne's mansion, Wally still in awe about the fact that the billionaire playboy was the infamous Dark Knight of Gotham, and both thanking whatever deity existed that Clark and J'onn had happened to be at the same train station they were at, and had cleverly helped them avoid a very public skirmish. Wally was still smiling over what Clark had said at the end of his "interview," after the hawk-people had rudely ordered him to leave.

"_Can I quote you?"_

'_Clever Boy Scout.' _Wally thought, chuckling to himself.

John proceeded to ring the doorbell, and Alfred opened the door to greet them, his face neutral.

"Uh, we're looking for Bruce Wayne." Wally said. "We're friends."

"…Of course. Master Bruce is expecting you."

Alfred moved aside to let the two superheroes in, and the three walked down the front hallway. It would have been a silent walk, had Wally not decided to crack a joke.

"So Jeeves," He asked, "do you come with the place, or does _Master Bruce_ rent you just for parties?"

Not even batting an eye, Alfred led the two to the grandfather clock, responding, "I've been in service here since the master was in diapers."

"Now there's a picture." Wally said, turning to smirk at John, who merely glared back at him.

Needless to say, the younger men were surprised when Alfred pulled the pendulum to the clock and it moved to the side, revealing the cave underneath. He led Wally and John through the entrance, where the other four members of the League and the half-Saiyan were waiting for them, Clark and J'onn having arrived about half an hour ago.

"You guests have arrived, sir." Alfred said to Bruce, as the undisguised Flash and Green Lantern walked down to the others.

The frowning playboy sat by his chair with his fingers clasped together firmly, the other Leaguers flanked by his side.

"You're late."

"Nice to see you too." John muttered grumpily.

Suddenly distracted, Flash gazed at the Tyrannosaurus Rex statue, a dopey smile on his face. "Hey, that's a giant dinosaur!"

"And I thought Batman was the detective." Alfred said sarcastically. Wally pretended not to hear that and walked back to the others, his smile quickly becoming a frown.

"We were just speculating why the Thanagarians are really here." J'onn stated.

Clark added, "Obviously not to protect us."

Pacing from Clark to Diana in thought, Gohan recounted, "When I saw the broadcast Commander Talak made about instituting martial law, I could tell that something was wrong. After all, if only they could protect us, wouldn't there be a more peaceful way to make your case?"

The others nodded, contemplating Gohan's words.

Diana spoke up, "But if the Gordanians aren't actually anywhere near Earth, then why do they need to build that force field?"

"If it is a force field." Bruce said.

"Then what is it?" John asked.

"I can tell you."

The seven turned sharply at the sound of another voice in the darkness, Gohan berating himself again for not sensing the energy ahead of time. Looking at the others, he could see that their shoulders were tensed, as if they knew the voice personally. He was about to ask them if they did when the voice moved from out of the shadows, revealing yet another one of the hawk-soldiers Gohan had become so familiar with recently.

But somehow, he could tell this one was different. Usually, when he sensed energy, he could pick out the differences between the good energy and the bad. The bad energy often hit him hard, leaving him with goosebumps on his arms and a cold sweat on his forehead. But with this soldier, Gohan felt none of that. The energy he sensed was pure of heart, flowing through the body fluently like a stream. Somehow even though he had no idea who she was, he could tell she wasn't going to try to hurt them.

However, the others felt differently.

"You've got a lot of nerve, showing up here." Clark rumbled, taking off his glasses.

Diana in turn clenched her fists. "We should thank you. It saves us having to hunt you down."

'_So they do know this person.' _Gohan observed.

The rest of the Leaguers advanced on the hawk woman, preparing to pound her face into the ground, when her calm voice interrupted.

"I didn't come to fight." She said, stopping them in their tracks.

"I came to help."

"Hawk people all over the planet." Wally countered, showing anger around the others for the first time in a long while. "Martial law, us getting chased like dogs. I don't think we can take much more of your help."

Shayera seemed to almost flinch at that comment, knowing full well that she was responsible for a lot of what had happened. "The situation is worse than you think." She walked slowly towards Bruce.

"They're building a hyperspace bypass. When's it's activated, it'll destroy the planet and everything on it." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out what looked like an alien disk drive and held it out to Bruce. "Here, this has all the information on the project."

She gazed into Bruce's cold eyes for a moment, as he made no movement to take the drive.

"Believe me," She said desperately, "I didn't know the magnitude of Talak's plans."

The two stared at each other for a few more seconds, before Bruce finally relented and grabbed the hardware out of her hands.

"We'll check it out." He said impassively, turning away. "There's the door."

Standing still, Shayera watched as every other member of the League walked by her without giving her one word, until only John and Gohan were left behind her.

Speaking to John, she said, "Aren't you going to turn your back on me too?"

John frowned, crossing his arms. "Last time I let my guard down you sucker-punched me."

"It wasn't personal."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Walking up to him, Shayera said, "I did what I thought was right then. And that's what I'm doing now."

Without another word, she opened her hand, revealing his lost Green Lantern ring. He gaped at it for a minute, then searched Shayera's eyes for any sort of trickery. To his surprise, he found none. He took the ring in his right hand and took one last look at the woman he thought he loved, before finally walking away.

Shayera opened her wings, preparing to fly back to the Thanagarian mothership, when she noticed the young boy still standing in front of her. He hadn't said a word throughout the entire exchange between the two former lovers, and rather than looking at her with scorn, he was regarding her curiously, his large eyes framing his youthful face.

Smiling, she leaned down slightly to his level. "You must be the boy that freed the Justice League from their prison, am I right?"

"Yes."

She sighed in relief, stretching back to her full height. "In that case, I wish you the best of luck. You and the others are going to need it." She was about to take off, when the boy continued talking.

"You're not like the others, are you?"

Frowning, Shayera let her wings fall to her side. "What do you mean by that?"

"Not like the other Thanagarian soldiers. Your energy isn't dark like theirs."

She wondered what he meant by that, but she understood the compliment. "For a brief moment, kid, I probably was like that. But I saw what Talak planned to do to this planet, and the safety of my people was not worth the destruction of an entire race."

"You and I are alike in that regard."

Shayera's eyes widened at how mature this boy seemed. From the looks of it, he wasn't much more than ten or eleven, and yet here he was, speaking like a seasoned adult.

"You know the Justice League personally, don't you?"

Shayera stepped back, startled at this boy's quick mind, before dropping her head in shame.

"I do. In fact, not too long ago, I was a member of the team. I fought with them, side-by-side, and they became some of the greatest companions I'd ever had in my life."

"Before all this, I was Hawkgirl. I was somebody people here admired, somebody little girls looked up to. I was…somebody."

She sniffed as a small tear rolled down her cheek.

"But now, I'm just Shayera. The alien that betrayed her most trusted allies and the entire Earth. And even if you and the rest manage to stop the invasion, I'll never be trusted by anyone again. My people will despise me, people here will shun me. I'll just be a nobody."

She continued to sob quietly for a few more seconds, until a hand rested upon her shoulder. Looking up, she saw the boy staring at her sympathetically with eyes far older than she saw fit on such a young person. Eyes that spoke of intelligence, bravery, and a kind heart.

But most importantly, eyes that showed the understanding of pain.

"I know things may seem tough for you now," Gohan said, "but time is a great healer for all wounds. No matter what, people will trust you again. Little girls will eventually look up to you, and your team will accept you. You just need to give it time."

Smiling, Gohan gave the hawk woman a little space.

"I'll be the first to say that I trust you."

Returning his smile, Shayera playfully ruffled the boy's unruly hair, causing him to blush.

"You know what, kid. You're alright."

Gohan responded by rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"Please, call me Gohan. Everyone else does. Well, except Batman."

"Okay, _Gohan_." Shayera said, spreading her wings. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to get back to the mothership before I start to arouse suspicion."

Gohan respectfully stepped back, allowing Shayera room to fly away, and was about to walk back to the others, when a small sound caught his attention. Straining his ears, Gohan was alarmed to hear a small beeping sound coming from somewhere near the former Hawkgirl. It was so miniscule that no normal person or even Thanagarian would detect it, but unfortunately it wasn't counting on Gohan's hyper-advanced hearing

"Shayera, _wait_!"

Stopping midflight, the hawk woman looked down curiously at the half-Saiyan. "What is it?"

"I think I can hear a small beeping sound coming from something near you."

Eyes widening, Shayera touched back down to the ground. "Can you detect where it is?"

"I think so." Gohan said, leaning close to the hawk woman. Listening closely to the vibrations from the sound, he moved his head left and right, noting as the sound got louder and softer, before finally stopping in the middle, facing the center of her breastplate.

"Well?" Shayera asked.

"Uh…" Gohan responded. "Call me crazy, but I think it's coming from that hawk symbol on your armor."

Looking at him in confusion, Shayera touched the symbol with both hands, feeling the outer ridges of it, before her nimble fingers came across a clasp on the sides. Mouth opening in horror, she came to a realization.

"No." She gasped, pulling the clasps and taking the centerpiece off to rest in her hands. Turning it over, she blanched as she saw a series of wires and gears…and a small camera in the center. All of which pointed to one thing…

"What?" Gohan questioned, growing nervous at the look on her face. "What is it?"

"It's…it's a tracking device."

The two stared at each other, utterly petrified, before Shayera's face ultimately turned sour, and she crushed the object in her hand with a growl.

"Those bastards."

"EVERYONE!" Gohan shouted, catching the attention of the rest of the Leaguers and Alfred. "WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"

* * *

Back on the Thanagarian mothership, General Kragger stood beside several officers, surrounded by computers that projected everything happening through Shayera's tracking device in a series of wire frames above their heads.

"The triangulating proposition from the tracking device you planted on her." One soldier said. "I have a fix on the location."

As he spoke, the blinking red dot on the map was fixated on, and the large map of Gotham City faded to reveal a smaller map that centered on Wayne Manor.

"Ready the strike squad!" Kragger demanded to another officer, looking triumphantly at the map, a superior smirk on his face. "This time, they will not…"

Suddenly, as he spoke, the red dot vanished from the screen, leaving the map completely blank.

"General Kragger! We've lost the signal! It seems the tracking device you implanted was damaged!"

Kragger growled deeply, frowning up at the screen.

"It appears Lieutenant Hol has become aware of our plans." He paused for a second, composing himself.

"No matter." Kragger continued. "We already have confirmation of the location. Continue as planned. And be aware," He warned to the soldiers preparing to call the strike squad, "The Justice League is now aware that you'll be coming for them, and we know little about this new recruit they picked up. No matter what, BE ON GUARD."

The soldiers nodded, and went their separate ways, all preparing for what they hoped would be a quick and effortless takedown. After all, they had defeated the Justice League before. Even with the supposed help of Shayera and this mysterious boy, they saw no reason why they couldn't win again.

…What fools they were…

Author's Note: Here we go! Finished even earlier than expected! For some reason, I just felt like I wanted to end with some humor in this chapter. We all know the Justice League is going to win the battle anyway. Now, we're going to start getting into the juicy stuff. Next chapter will cover most of Starcrossed: Part 3, and will most likely be much longer than the previous chapters. So please understand if it takes a little while longer to finish. Also, I'll be having to describe a lot of action which I feel is never as strong as my dialogue, so it'll require some extra work. Also, college! Busy busy busy! Please read and review, I'll see you next chapter!


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